Kansas Municipal News
Municipal Bond Trends for December 9, 2024
The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer’s credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.
Wichita City Hall spent $3.4 million on police retention bonuses. Did they work?
At least 48 Wichita Police Department employees who received $5,000 retention bonuses last December left their jobs within a year, The Wichita Eagle has found. And they get to keep the money. The Wichita City Council reopened the city’s negotiations with the Fraternal Order of Police last year to approve $3.4 million in unplanned spending for the bonuses in an effort to encourage officers to stay with the department in the wake of a mayoral election where police staffing was the dominant topic.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Lawrence City Commission to consider plan for separated bike lanes on section of Mass Street
Lawrence city staff members are recommending a design for the stretch of Massachusetts Street between 14th and 19th streets that includes 3-foot curbs to separate bike lanes from vehicle traffic. Community members asked the Lawrence City Commission in April to push for the stretch of road, which was already set for a redesign, to include protected bike lanes. City staff members looked at street designs with protected bike lanes in several cities to help evaluate options. The proposed design would include one lane of vehicle traffic in each direction, a center lane for turns, and 5-foot-wide bike lanes separated from the street by a 3-foot-wide median. Residents along the stretch could put their trash carts in the median zone, and solid waste workers could complete trash pickup from the lanes of traffic, according to the meeting agenda.
Source: The Lawrence Times
Cyber attack on plant detailed
The FBI and Homeland Security have completed their investigation of the cyberattack against the Arkansas City water treatment plant that occurred in late September. City Manager Randy Frazer gave a report of those findings to the city commission last week. He said that a detailed analysis by Homeland Security’s Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) confirmed that no data had been acquired during the attack. He said according to the report, files were accessed but no staging or transfer of data took place. “There was no personal information compromised,” he said. “None of the citizens information of the employee’s information, so we’ll be closing that investigation out.” But the attack was costly for the city. Frazer said the city carries insurance for such attacks that only covered the legal fees and investigation costs. He said those costs came to $58,550, of which all but the $10,000 deductible was reimbursed.
Source: Cowley CourierTraveler
Commerce Launches New Quality of Place Grant for Rural Revitalization
Secretary of Commerce David Toland announced today the launch of the new Towns grant program. This program is an initiative designed to spur quality-of-place improvements in rural Kansas communities that have received no funding from the Kansas Department of Commerce in the past three years. This new opportunity will have $100,000 available for its first round of funding. The program provides grants that range from $1,000 to $10,000 to support small-scaled projects that will deliver meaningful results in rural communities, with a focus on increasing local capacity, fostering community and youth engagement, and mobilizing volunteers and local investment…. Grant applications open Monday, December 16, and will close February 28, 2025. Awardees will be announced mid-April 2025.
Source: Kansas Department of Commerce
Kansas Tourism Announces 13 Attraction Development Grant Awardees
Secretary of Commerce David Toland today announced that more than $400,000 has been awarded for projects that will boost tourism throughout the state. Funding from the Attraction Development Grant program, which focuses on assisting local communities in the development of sustainable travel experiences through new and existing tourism attractions, will be divided among 13 entities…. The grant program is an initiative designed to provide financial assistance to public, private and nonprofit entities to invest in enhancing tourism across the state. The initiative will create a positive economic impact through job creation, capital investment, higher revenue and increased visitation.
Source: Kansas Department of Commerce
Municipal Bond Trends for December 6, 2024
The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer’s credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.
With potential for ‘storm of controversy’, Prairie Village again wades into revising neighborhood guidelines
After an unofficial hiatus of more than a year, Prairie Village is picking up the baton of tweaking neighborhood design guidelines. On Tuesday, after city staff suggested a few options to update the city’s guidelines that address single-family housing issues, the Prairie Village Planning Commission punted the conversation to the city council. Planning commissioners said they wanted to hear feedback from the city council before discussing any changes to the design guidelines. Neighborhood design guidelines — a topic that received significant attention in Prairie Village six years ago — dictate requirements for items such as lot size and lot coverage for new construction.
Source: Johnson County Post
Lenexa will ask residents to renew 3/8-cent sales tax in mail-in election
The Lenexa City Council has approved language for a special mail-in ballot measure asking residents to extend the city’s existing 3/8-cent sales tax. On Tuesday, the city council voted 6-0 to approve a resolution finalizing ballot language that will go before voters in spring 2025, asking whether the sales tax should be renewed or not. Councilmembers Joe Karlin and Craig Denny were absent. Originally approved by voters in 2008, the 3/8-cent tax has served as a key funding source for some of the city’s most visible projects over the past decade-and-a-half. Revenue generated by the tax has helped fund ongoing street maintenance projects, park improvements, city facility renovations and trail construction.
Source: Johnson County Post
How Kansas is spending federal infrastructure dollars
On the whole, U.S. infrastructure is ill-equipped for the demands of modern-day life. In response, the federal government has been pumping money into making repairs and improvements across the country through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021; the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which funds the domestic production of semiconductors and promotes various activities at science agencies; and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Through these, the federal government has announced $582.8 billion in funding toward public infrastructure, semiconductor development, and clean energy across the nation and its territories. The federal government has announced $3.7 billion in funds toward Kansas infrastructure projects. Most of these funds are going toward transportation projects, at 59.0%, which this analysis will cover more thoroughly in the next section.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Emporia puts new rec center project on pause after Tyson, Holiday Resort closures
The City of Emporia is slowing down its progress on building a new recreation center due to several business closure announcements this week. The Emporia Recreation Steering Committee and a city spokeswoman told 27 News on Friday, Dec. 6 that it has decided to take a step back on the new recreation center project because of the Tyson Fresh Meats and Holiday Resort closure announcements. The committee is waiting until the members “fully understand the implications”.
Source: KSNT 27 News
Riley County firefighters mourn loss of ‘pillar of our community’
A local fire agency is mourning the loss of one of its own who left a profound impact on the community he served for more than four decades. The Riley County Fire District #1 took to social media on Dec. 4 to share its memories of Ross Hauck who passed away on Nov. 30, 2024. Hauck died at the age of 76 and was still an active participant with the district at the time of his passing.
Source: KSNT 27 News
Emporia reassures community amid multiple business closures
Emporia leaders and stakeholders are working to support residents impacted by multiple business closures this week. A joint statement was released by the City of Emporia, Lyon County and stakeholders from multiple key organizations that are working together to find a way to help people impacted by the closures of Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc. and Holiday Resort. These entities met on Wednesday, Dec. 4 to coordinate efforts to support the workers and families hit by these shut downs; meeting will continue regularly as the situation evolves, according to the release. The main focus is connecting impacted employees with local job opportunities and training programs.
Source: KSNT 27 News
County appraiser is a ‘tough’ job. JoCo is now looking for a new one.
A search for a new county appraiser began Thursday as county commissioners accepted the resignation letter of Appraiser Beau Boisvert. Boisvert, who has been appraiser for five years, will step down Jan. 24, 2025 due to health concerns. Commissioners regretfully accepted his retirement at Thursday’s meeting and praised him for his work with the county, which started when he was hired in 2019. Commission Chair Mike Kelly cited Boisvert’s professionalism in handling some difficult years, “not only in dealing with a market you didn’t create, dealing with state statues you didn’t create, having to deal with people who didn’t necessarily want to have to deal with the county.”
Source: Johnson County Post
The Fed is on course to cut interest rates in December, but what happens next is anyone’s guess
Friday’s jobs report virtually cements that the Federal Reserve will approve an interest rate cut when it meets later this month. Whether it should, and what it does from there, is another matter. The not-too-hot, not-too-cold nature of the November nonfarm payrolls release gave the central bank whatever remaining leeway it may have needed to move, and the market responded in kind by raising the implied probability of a reduction to close to 90%, according to a CME Group gauge. However, the central bank in the coming days is likely to face a vigorous debate over just how fast and how far it should go.
Source: CNBC – Bonds
New school board hotline now live
The Kansas School Board Resource Center (KSRC) recently announced the launch of a new legal hotline, a resource now available to all Kansas school boards. This initiative aims to provide state and local school board members in Kansas with free, accessible legal advice on various issues related to their roles and responsibilities.
Source: Derby Informer | Area
Lenexa will send sales tax renewal to voters in spring
The Lenexa City Council on Tuesday approved ballot language for the renewal of a three-eighths-cent sales tax that will have generated almost $150 million for streets, parks and recreation. Voters will receive mail ballots in mid-March on renewing the tax, initially approved in 2008 and expiring in 2028, according to a release from the city. The renewed tax would kick in after Oct. 1, 2028, and is expected to provide about $260 million before it lapses in 2048. The city plans to share specific dates for the vote early next year. The release notes that 40% of Lenexa’s sales tax comes from non-residents visiting retailers.
Source: Kansas City Business Journal
Plan to reduce Sedgwick County property tax burden fails
On Wednesday, Sedgwick County commissioners considered a new plan to control property tax spending by using sales tax revenue to fund some quality-of-life services. It came as commissioners were hearing many complaints about high property taxes. The county mailed property tax bills last week. Commissioners Jim Howell and Ryan Baty believe the county should only use property tax money to pay for core government services, like the sheriff’s office, the fire department, 911, and roads and bridges. Howell proposed funding quality-of-life services, like the Sedgwick County Zoo and Exploration Place, through the sales tax.
Source: KSN-TV
Overland Park bids farewell to farmers’ market pavilion, makes way for new space
Patrons and vendors alike bid farewell to the Overland Park Farmers’ Market pavilion in downtown Overland Park over the weekend. People left messages, shared memories and signed their names in permanent marker on the pavilion’s pillars on Saturday, the final day of the 2024 market season. The city will soon begin the process of disassembling the aging market pavilion to make way for a new $34 million structure.
Source: Shawnee Mission Post
Don’t flake out: City of Lawrence seeks flurry of names for snow plows
It’s on: The City of Lawrence is challenging residents to participate in a snowplow naming contest. “From December 6 through December 13, Lawrence residents can submit their most imaginative, hilarious, or heartwarming snowplow name ideas,” according to a city news release Friday morning. Lawrence residents can visit lawrenceks.org/snow to submit a creative name suggestion. Submissions close at 11:59 p.m. Friday, Dec. 13. The winner of what is assuredly the honor of a lifetime will be announced Friday, Dec. 20.
Source: The Lawrence Times